The Uzumaki Failsafe
by DagonKin
Summary: The Uzumaki Clan wasn't stupid. They knew that with their reputation it was likely something would go horribly wrong. Predicting the worst, they devised a plan to ensure the survival of their line and knowledge, sealing away the Sandaime Uzukage little more than two years before the fall of Uzushiogakure.
1. Chapter 1

" _It's as good as it's going to get within our lifetimes," a tall, burly man with long red hair pulled back in a ponytail announced to the group gathered before him. "All we can do now is hope that everything goes right, because if it doesn't…"_

" _Don't worry Kenji, everything will be fine," a strikingly beautiful woman with green eyes and crimson hair replied. "Besides, I'm the one it's going to effect."_

" _I know, Yuko. It's just…" he trailed off._

" _I understand, Kenji. But this is something we must do."_

* * *

Deep beneath the ruins of Uzushiogakure, an inordinately complex seal lit up with an intensity to rival the sun. As the glow died down, a child was revealed standing on the seal. Carefully, cautiously she examined her hands, as if ensuring that they really existed. Slowly, she lifted her head, taking in the room she was in for the first time.

The first thing she noticed were the scrolls. Hundreds upon hundreds upon thousands of scrolls of every size were carefully placed on sealed shelves, covering nearly every surface in the room. In the corner was a nearly empty desk, save for a sealed inkwell, an aged brush, and a sheaf of papers. Behind the desk stood a mirror, its dusty frame reflecting a blurred image.

Dust. It was everywhere, in some places more than an inch thick. Slowly flipping through hand seals, the girl spoke in an unsteady voice. "Wind release: Filter." Taking a deep breath, she approached the desk. Brushing a hand across the paper, she realized it was a journal or diary of some sort.

 _Sixty-seven years after Warring States Era_

 _I fear that this is the end for us. Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo, united by their fear of what the Uzumaki are capable of, signed a treaty of some sort and sent their forces against us. We sent a request for aid from Konohagakure, but the distance is great, far too great for reinforcements to arrive in time._

 _This is the final entry. I shall charge our safeguards one final time before I too march to death. If anyone finds this room, then you are of Uzumaki blood, and this is your heritage. Treat it well._

 _Uzumaki Kenji,  
_ _Nidaime Uzukage_

The child looked around once more, taking in the sight of the countless dust coated scrolls. Shaking her head, she turned towards a bare wall with a spiral carved into it. With a swift bite, she drew blood from her thumb and swept it across the spiral. With a hiss and a dull red glow, the wall disappeared, revealing a set of stairs going up. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she moved forwards, stepping into the outside world and into the ruins of Uzu.

She thought she was ready. She had gone into the seal knowing that by the time she came out, everyone she knew would be dead. When she came out, she held on to the hope that she had merely been forgotten. The journal on the desk had clearly indicated otherwise, though, and so she had prepared to see desolation.

She hadn't prepared enough.

As her eyes wandered over the crumbling ruins, she felt tears streak down her face. The sky, as if in a blatant mockery of the tragedy that had taken place, was bright and sunny, the breeze soft and calming.

 _Funny,_ she thought. _I would prefer if it was storming._ Slowly, she picked her way through the ruins, her home both familiar and strange to her at the same time. _Sixty-seven years after the WSE, and the seal lasts for about a decade and a half from full charge. I was sealed at sixty years after, so I've been sealed for around twenty years._

"It's amazing how much can change in a handful of years," she muttered to herself. Idly, she wondered how her niece was doing. To her, it felt as if she'd seen her yesterday, but to her sister, it would be decades by now.

Decision made, she turned westward.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, rubbed his temples. He could practically feel the coming headache. It wasn't every day that a young girl claiming to be the Sandaime Uzukage showed up practically on your doorstep, requesting a meeting with a woman who died a dozen years ago. Sighing, he stood up, both pleased and displeased. Pleased, because there was a distraction from the neverending enemy of all Kages, paperwork. Displeased, as this meant that the paperwork would pile up.

Resigning himself to a trip down to the gates, Hiruzen signalled for his ANBU to follow him as he left the Hokage Tower. Walking down the stairs, he passed an overly energetic blonde who was clearly on his way up the tower.

"Hey Old Man!" the blonde, Naruto, shouted at the top of his lungs. From right next to the Hokage. "Where're ya goin'?"

Hiruzen mentally groaned. Of course the exuberant blonde would be here, the one time he didn't want to see him. "I have a meeting, Naruto. We can talk later, but not right now because this meeting is important."

"C'mon Old Man," Naruto whined. "Who're ya talkin' to? Can't be that important, can they?"

"They are claiming to be the Sandaime Uzukage," Hiruzen stated as they walked.

"Uzukage?" the boy asked. "Is that like Hokage?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "In a way. As the Hokage leads the Konoha, the Uzukage led Uzushio."

"Led? What do you mean by that?" the blonde asked, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"I mean exactly that, Naruto. Uzushio is no more. It was destroyed near the end of the Second Shinobi War, which you would know if you paid attention in class."

"Umm. 'Ruka-sensei never said anythin' 'bout Uzushio, Old Man. Second War, lotsa stuff. Lotsa interestin' stuff, actually, but nothin' 'bout Uzushio," Naruto stated.

"Are you sure?" Hiruzen asked somewhat sharply. If that damn council messed with the academy curriculum again…

"Yeah. 'Ruka-sensei made sure that I went to class when we were talkin' about the second war. We talked 'lotta 'bout the White Fang and his disgrace, and lots about tactics. Nothin' about Uzushio. I'da remembered, 'Ruka-sensei quizzed me every day. Not sure why."

Hiruzen groaned. "The fall of Uzushiogakure was our greatest failure," he said. "Why don't you look it up in the library while I have this meeting?"

"Can't," the boy said, staring at his feet. "Lady won't let me inside. Says I don't deserve to go in." Hiruzen growled.

"Cat," he called. An ANBU with a pale mask painted like a cat appeared. "Take Naruto to the library. I want it made absolutely clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is to be allowed inside."

Cat bowed, placed a hand on the boys shoulder and directed him away from the Hokage. Hiruzen let out a sigh, feeling somewhat guilty that he had directed the boy away from him. However, he felt that the boy was not ready to learn of his lineage, which he was sure would come up at some point in the meeting.

Hiruzen waited for Cat and Naruto to disappear before proceeding towards the gate, flanked by three ANBU. When he arrived, it was to a highly intriguing sight. Izumo and Kotetsu, the eternal gate guards, were standing in front of a redheaded girl who looked to be about Naruto's age.

"Would someone like to tell me exactly why I've been forced to leave my office to deal with a complication at the gate?" Hiruzen asked, feigning a sternness he didn't feel, nor want to feel.

"Ah, well, Hokage-sama," Izumo started. "We weren't sure what to do, because she claims to be the Sandaime Uzukage."

"The problem with that is," Kotetsu picked up where Izumo left off, "we don't know who the Uzukage is. So we can neither prove or disprove her claims, and she doesn't have the proper papers."

The Hokage sighed. More paperwork to deal with later. Turning his attention to the girl, he addressed her, ignoring the two gate chunin. "Alright. Start from the beginning, if that's possible."

She looked up at him with startlingly green eyes, her mouth opening to speak before her eyes widened. "Hiruzen… Is that you?"

Something in her voice was vaguely familiar, reminiscent of a time long ago. He tried to put his finger on it, but he couldn't quite. Setting it aside for now, he answered. "I don't believe we've met before, but yes, I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage."

Her response was not what he expected. "So good ole Tobi gave you the hat, did he? Fancy that. Kenji always said that it would go to you. Since you introduced yourself, allow me the same. I am Uzumaki Yuko, student of the Nidaime Uzukage Uzumaki Kenji. I am the crowning achievement of the Uzumaki Clan, and by extension, Uzushiogakure."

Hiruzen's jaw dropped. "Y… Yuko?" he unsteadily asked. "What happened to you? How did you survive the fall of Uzushiogakure?"

"Remember the last time we met, when I told you we would likely not see eachother again?" Yuko asked. Hiruzen nodded. "I mentioned a highly classified mission then. That mission was that I would become a failsafe for the Uzumaki - a repository of all our knowledge and a genetic backup, should things go wrong."

"Suffice it to say that my mission was a success. Unfortunately, because I am here before you, it was a necessary success. I was sealed away within some of the most complex seals the Uzumaki ever designed, to be released only if the Uzumaki were to fall. What year is it, by the way?"

"About one-hundred post WSE."

"Holy shit. Kenji must've overloaded the seal…" Yuko muttered to herself. "Would have caused a chakra overload in the reservoir, resulting in spillout into the stasis seal, which would have caused a reversal… which would explain… holy shit."

"What?" Hiruzen asked.

"Kenji actually managed to reverse the flow of time in a localized area by overloading a stasis seal. Or, more accurately, he reversed time on the extradimensional level."

"What do you mean?" the Hokage asked, albeit warily.

"Where does a kunai go when you seal it?" Yuko started. "It goes into a seal. But what does it mean to go _into_ the seal? The seal has no volume, no substance."

"That… has never been a question I've looked into," the Hokage replied.

"It's been one that we, the Uzumaki, looked into. Apparently, one of the reasons that stable seals are so complicated is because they mess with dimensional fluctuations. A storage seal literally takes an item and, with an influx of energy, turns the items mass into energy, transfers the energy into another 'localized' dimension and turns it back into mass. That's why if you try to seal something living it dies."

"However, we figured out a way to seal a living organism. Instead of transferring the mass into energy and transferring it back, we created an entirely new dimension with an intricate seal array already set up on the other side, allowing us to teleport something between dimensions without deconstructing it on either end. It was incredibly complicated."

"So we figured out how to seal a living organism, and bring it back alive. The problem was, that was basically very similar to that technique that Tobi came up with as a proof of concept. Y'know, that teleporting one, don't remember what he called it."

"Hiraishin," Hiruzen offered.

"Yeah, hiraishin. Only, we'd caused it to work on an extra-dimensional scale. But that caused problems with time fluctuations in the other dimension. I don't know if you know this or not, but gravity and time are related to eachother. The stronger the force of gravity is, the slower time flows. This caused a significant disparity with our test subjects, because we could never get the gravity forces synchronized. Eventually, we came up with the idea of adding a stasis clause to the gravity clause… I'm rambling. Shit."

She took a deep breath. "Long story short, it seems like Kenji overloaded the stasis field, resulting in time flowing backwards relative to our dimension. So I grew younger. Damnit. I'm going to have to learn how to use a preteens body… FUCK!" she shouted, causing Hiruzen to jump in alarm.

"What?" Hiruzen asked, concerned for his old friend who had become young.

"I'm… going to go through puberty. Again."

Hiruzen stifled a laugh.

* * *

"And that is the current political situation of the world, as best as we know," Hiruzen finished with a sigh.

"I see," Yuko stated. "Then, seeing as Uzushiogakure is no more and the Uzumaki have scattered, I formally request to be permitted to join the ranks of Konoha."

"Where would you rate your skills?" the Hokage asked curiously.

"I was slated to be the Sandaime Uzukage before I was sealed. I was fully grown then, though, and I am… unused to the body of a… twelve year old. I appear to be twelve, correct?"

Hiruzen nodded. "I'd say so, yes."

"Very well. My knowledge and battle experience would normally put me at jounin level, but due to my current situation, I think I would hardly rate a chuunin. Also, I feel that I would like to meet people my 'own' physical age as well as my mental age. Tell me, is my niece still here?"

"Your niece?"

"Yes. Kushina. I believe Mito-sama requested for her to be sent here."

Hiruzen sighed. This was going to be regrettable. He steepled his fingers in front of his face before opening his mouth. "As the Sandaime Uzukage, I'm sure you know the reason that Kushina left Uzushio, yes?"

Yuko nodded, so he continued. "Unfortunately, twelve years ago, the Kyuubi somehow escaped from Kushina's seal while she went into labor. What I'm about to tell you is an S-Ranked secret, and revealing it is punishable by death." Another nod.

"Her husband, Namikaze Minato and the Yondaime Hokage sealed the fox into their newborn son, Naruto, using the Reaper Death Seal." He idly noted Yuko stiffening at the mention of that seal. "Unfortunately, she did not survive that night."

"And the boy grew up alone. Strange, I would be around his age. Does the boy know?" she asked.

Silence reigned in the office. "I take that as a 'no.' Does he know about his lineage?" Another period of silence. "I assume you have plans to tell Naruto when he's capable of defending himself, then. Does he know you know, or does he think that no one knows?"

"He knows I know. It bothers him," Hiruzen stated sadly.

"Very well then. Naruto now has a relative. Cousin would be preferable. I will look after him."

Hiruzen nodded and wrote down an address. "This is where his apartment is. He has an obsession with ramen, just so you know."

"Of course he does," Yuko said as she raised an eyebrow. "He's an Uzumaki, is he not? Is there a training ground I would have access to, by the way? I would prefer to hone my skills in private, at least to prevent embarrassment."

"You can use my personal training ground. It's behind the monument. I'm sure you have some taijutsu katas to reacquaint yourself with, as well as the musculoskeletal structure of a twelve year old."

"Of course. Have fun with your paperwork, Hiruzen." She stood and bowed, before walking towards the door. "A tip, from one Kage to another. Were I you, I would simply use a shadow clone to get through it."

There was a thunk as she reached the door. Holding back a smirk, Yuko turned around and was greeted with the sight of the Hokage banging his head on his desk. Repeatedly. With a click, she closed the door behind her as she left, humming a happy tune to herself. It was when she finally exited the tower that she let a satisfied smirk climb onto her face.

* * *

Maito Gai was doing his morning thousand laps around Konoha when he came across a strange sight that seemed vaguely familiar. A girl with red hair going through a series of kata that he very distinctly recognized as Kushina-sans. Curiosity piqued, he approached the girl as she went through the kata.

She appeared to be around the same age as his own genin team, perhaps slightly younger. He had never seen her before, but given that she was going through a kata, he assumed she was an academy student.

"I did not know that there was anyone left who know the Tempest Fist," Gai said as he approached, uncharacteristically serious.

"It was the primary taijutsu style of the Uzumaki Clan, before the fall of Uzushiogakure," the girl replied. "From your appearance, you must be Maito Gai, yes?"

"It appears that I am at a disadvantage," Gai stated. "You know me, but I do not know you."

"Uzumaki Yuko, once the Sandaime Uzukage." She spoke with such a serious tone that Gai didn't even question it until he had already nodded.

"So what brings the Uzukage to Konoha?" Gai asked. It's not every day you run into a Kage who's only a dozen years old.

"Near the end of the Second War, the Uzumaki designed a seal to act as a failsafe, should anything happen to the clan or the village, in order to protect the secrets of the clan. Techniques, styles, and above all, our knowledge of seals. As a result of that plan, I was placed in a seal, to be brought out if the chakra in the seal depleted. There was a complication, and I was de-aged by what seems to be fifteen years."

Gai blinked. That was definitely not the answer that he was expecting to hear. He was about to ask more questions when Yuko continued. "Judging by the fact that you recognized the Tempest Fist, I would gather that you knew Uzumaki Kushina?"

"Yes! I knew the youthful Kushina-san! She was quite the youthful individual! She taught me the Tempest Fist when I was a youthful chunin, feeding my Flames of Youth to grow ever brighter and hotter!"

Yuko stepped back, clearly confused and surprised by the outburst. "Well then, Gai-san. Would it be too much for me to ask you to correct my stances if necessary? I am not accustomed to the body of a twelve year old."

"Yosh!" Gai shouted. "I will help you in your endeavors to enhance your Flames of Youth!"

"... thanks…" Yuko said. She went back to her katas, with Gai occasionally correcting her stance while he did handstand push-ups with one hand. They continued like that for an hour or so before Yuko spoke again.

"Gai-san, why is common sense so rare?"

"I am not sure I understand your youthful question, most youthful Yuko," Gai responded.

"What happens if you tear apart a storage seal?" Yuko asked.

"It releases whatever was stored within it along with a most unyouthful explosion."

"Right. So, my question is, if something violent were stored within a person, why would they give the person a reason to hate them? Furthermore, why would they weaken the seal restraining the violent subject?"

Gai's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you hinting at, Yuko-san?"

"I am wondering why people would give someone who has the power to destroy them a reason to destroy them is all."

Gai sighed. When he woke up that morning, he had no intentions of having this conversation with anyone. "I would say that it is because they do not understand, and emotions cloud their judgement. Regretfully, they do not wish to understand."

"Thank you, Gai-san. One last question. Where is the academy? I'm supposed to be there at nine, but I don't know where it is."

"Yes, my youthful companion! I shall show you where the academy is! If I cannot, I shall run a thousand laps around Konoha on my hands!" Gai shouted, clearly glad for the change of topic. "Allow me, Konoha's Green Beast Maito Gai to direct you to the academy most youthfully to stoke your Flames of Youth in your Springtime of Youth! YOUUTTHHH!"

* * *

It was a day just like any other day at the academy, at least in Umino Iruka's eyes. Students would soon start slowly filing in, usually starting with Aburame Shino. Punctual as always, it was rare for Shino to not be the first student to enter the classroom. In the few cases were he wasn't the first, Hyuuga Hinata would usually be the first to arrive.

As such, it was a surprise when the first person to arrive that day was neither Hinata or Shino, but instead was a girl with scarlet hair and striking green eyes, and she was accompanied by none other than Maito Gai. This was probably the new arrival that the Hokage had told him about.

"Uzumaki Yuko?" Iruka asked. She inclined her head in affirmation of her identity before turning to address the shinobi beside her.

"Thank you Gai-san. Perhaps we could meet again sometime if it fits into your schedule."

"Of course, Yuko-san," Gai said, smiling widely and extending his arm with a thumbs-up in a classic 'nice guy' pose. "Have a most youthful day, and ensure that your Flames of Youth never die!"

"... Right," Yuko replied as Gai vanished. Focusing back on Iruka, she continued. "I take it that I'm in the right place?"

"Assuming that you're Uzumaki Yuko, yes, this is the right place. I'm Umino Iruka - call me Iruka-sensei."

"Right. I believe Hiru… err... The Hokage waived the history portion for me? I know he was trying to get the entire written portion waived, but I'm unsure of his success regarding that," Yuko stated.

"It's highly irregular, but yes, the paperwork for that went through. If I may ask, why is it that you are getting your written portions waived?" Iruka asked, curiosity evident on his face.

"Sorry, that's classified," Yuko regretfully answered. "Suffice it to say that there are extenuating circumstances regarding myself. Is there a seating chart, or do I just sit anywhere?"

"There isn't an official seating chart, but your classmates have developed an unofficial one. For example, Uchiha Sasuke sits in the front, right up against the wall, and Uzumaki Naruto either sits next to him or in the corner in the back." Yuko grimaced, and Iruka did not miss it.

"Never did like the Uchiha's much," she muttered, almost inaudibly, but Iruka heard. "Fortunate that their thrice-damned eyes can't steal seals or pure chakra manipulation…"

"A heads-up about Sasuke - he's a loner type. Has been since the massacre, rarely says more than two words in a sentence."

"Let me guess - he's also snobbish, selfish, and has a stick the size of a mountain up his ass?" Yuko sarcastically added, having seen the type before.

"Though it's rude, that isn't an inaccurate statement," Iruka agreed with a ghost of a smile.

"Well, I guess it's fortunate that he's not the person that I'm interested in, is it?" Yuko said with a similar smirk. "Tell me about Naruto, would you? I hear he needs friends."

Iruka's eyes narrowed somewhat. "Uzumaki Naruto is… wait a moment. Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Yuko - are you, by any chance, related?"

Yuko smirked. "It's highly likely. With the fall of Uzushiogakure, many of the families of lesser import were scattered across the Elemental Nations in the hopes that our lines would not end. We may not be directly related, but it's probable we're at least distantly related. Hence my curiosity."

Iruka was gaping, mouth half-open. "The Uzumaki were a clan?" he asked incredulously.

Yuko sighed. The Hokage had warned her that the Civilian Council had altered the academy classes after the Nine-Tails attack, but to try and deny Naruto knowledge of his likely heritage by denying it to everyone? That was unacceptable, and she was going to have words with the Hokage and, hopefully, the council.

"The Uzumaki were a very well known clan, on the same level as the Uchiha and Senju clans back when they were around. We were never a large clan, due to population concerns on Uzushiogakure, because the island was fairly small - no larger than Konoha. Our knowledge of Fuinjutsu, our Kenjutsu prowess, and our inherently large chakra reserves and longevity caused many to fear us greatly, for no other reason than what we were capable of."

"To put it simply, our genin had the chakra reserves of the average jounin, our chunin had kage level reserves, and our jounins had multiples of kage level reserves. You've heard of Hoshigaki Kisame, yes?"

Iruka shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I haven't."

"He's a Kiri missing-nin who's called the Tailed-Beast-Without-A-Tail - that's how much chakra he has. That's the level of chakra our average jounin had. Unfortunately for us, near the end of the Second Shinobi War, Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa determined that the best way to neutralize us was a joint attack. To the best of my knowledge, they suffered ridiculously high casualty rates - somewhere between 85 and 95%. We, on the other hand, suffered casualty rates of around 98%."

"There were two-hundred or so of us, and over three-thousand of them. With losses like that, it's no surprise Konoha came out on top in the Third war."

Stunned silence followed her statement, broken a couple moments later when Iruka shook his head. "I'm going to have a chat with the Hokage later," he muttered.

A few more minutes of silence filled with Iruka's musings as he graded papers followed until the door opened and in stepped a pale dark-haired teen with onyx eyes. He wore a blue shirt with white forearm wrappings. Casting a cursory glance at Yuko, he sat down in his customary seat where only one person could sit next to him. Yuko's eyes narrowed at the sight of the Uchiha fan on his back.

"Sasuke, is it?" she asked disinterestedly. Uchiha's were almost all one and the same - you know one, you know almost all of them. And she knew many.

"Hn," he grunted intelligently. Very intelligently.

Yuko sighed. "Clearly I'm wasting my time." She closed her eyes and entertained herself by pushing her chakra around her body in patterns, channelling it to various points in her body - ears to enhance hearing, nose to enhance smell, eyes to enhance vision, fingers for easier external manipulation and sealing.

The room slowly filled as she continued her exercises. A pink haired girl with eyes a similar hue to her own entered alongside a blonde girl with turquoise eyes. A non-descript boy in a jacket with a collar that went above his cheekbones and dark sunglasses - trademark Aburame. A lavender haired girl with pupil-less eyes, obviously a Hyuuga.

An Inuzuka with an opinion of himself that far exceeded the reality entered and immediately started hitting on all of the females, Yuko included. She ignored him as two more males entered the room. One of them was slouched over, his feet dragging as he made his way to his seat. His demeanor just screamed Nara. The other had a bag of chips and was fairly rotund - most likely an Akimichi. There were others, but none of them stood out particularly much.

Iruka stood up and was just about to start class when one final student entered the classroom. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his blonde hair was a complete mess, as if he had woken up five minutes ago. When he looked up, Yuko found herself staring into deep pools of the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were arguably more striking than her own eyes.

"Naruto, glad you could join us," Iruka said in a voice laced with sarcasm.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei. I fell asleep at the library and overslept," the blonde explained.

"It's alright, at least you're here," Iruka replied with a smile. "Before we begin today, I'd like to make an announcement. Starting today, you will have a new classmate. Uzumaki Yuko, please stand up."

Yuko rose to her feet and scanned the room. For the most part, curious looks were returned, with one exception: Naruto. He looked absolutely astounded at the announcement. "Before we get completely off track, please save your questions for the break," Iruka continued. "Now, we left off yesterday with chakra theory…"

* * *

 **A/N: I don't own Naruto. I wish I did, because then I'd be rich as all hell, but I don't.**


	2. Chapter 2

" _I hope you know what you're doing," Yuko said as she stepped into the seal array._

" _Trust me, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's breaking the rules of reality and creating my own. Create a stable parallel dimension to store something in? Simple. Add a synchronization and then stasis seal on top of that? Complicated, but doable," Kenji retorted, fake hurt in his eyes._

" _I'm going to miss you, Kenji," Yuko muttered as she spread her arms for a hug._

" _And I you, Yuko. However, it warms my heart to know that at least you will survive."_

 _Yuko laughed mirthlessly. "That's assuming everything goes right."_

" _Of course it will, Yuko! How could you possibly doubt my seals?" Kenji asked, enveloping her in his arms._

" _It's not that I doubt your seals, sensei. I'm simply questioning your ability to completely rewrite the rules of reality as you see fit. Nothing more, nothing less."_

* * *

Yuko quickly found herself extremely bored with her classes. The only topic that she didn't already understand was history, and that was simply because she had been in a seal for the past three decades, give or take a few years. As such, she took to sleeping in most of the theoretical classes.

Most of it was wrong anyways. At least, it was from the perspective of an Uzumaki.

She focused instead on getting to know the classmates that interested her. Sasuke could go die in a hole for all she cared. Shino was a calm intellectual who she could always go to for a game of shogi. Shikamaru was a lazy intellectual that she had fun debating with. Sometimes, it even actually seemed like he was interested in them.

Sakura and Ino were far too interested in Sasuke for their own good, along with far too many of the other prospective kunoichi. They'd probably either drop out or die in their first B-Rank if they maintained that attitude. Hinata was a quiet girl with severe self-esteem issues. Yuko tried to help her with that when she could, but whatever progress she made was quickly stamped out when the poor girl went home.

Choji was a gentle boy - a commendable attitude, but not one that suited a career as a shinobi. When he was angry, though… his attitude was actually very similar to many of the Uzumaki. Kind natured, but deadly if angered. Kiba was much too arrogant to survive long - hopefully that'd be beaten out of him on his first few C-Ranks. His tendency to chase any female was a more concerning matter, simply because it was incredibly frustrating to deal with.

Naruto, though. Now he was an interesting kid. Loud, abrasive, obnoxious on the exterior. It was a good mask. A damned good one. However, all one needed to do was look a little bit deeper to realize it was a mask hiding a ridiculously depressing reality. The kid had self-esteem issues that dwarfed the Hyuuga girl's. He was so lonely, all he wanted was someone to pay attention to him. It very nearly broke her heart when Yuko saw his mask for what it was.

It was fortunate then, that she arrived when she did. Even more fortunate that they shared a name, giving her an excuse to talk to him.

She didn't have to do anything, though. Naruto had come to her, utterly incapable of keeping his thoughts from spewing out of his mouth. While initially endearing, his babbling quickly crossed the line to obnoxious when question after question poured out, without giving him time to answer.

In retrospect, it made sense. She was the first person his age who would answer his questions. Everyone else, with the exception of Choji, refused to give Naruto the time, let alone answer his questions.

"What's your favorite color? What's your favorite food? Do you like Ramen? Do you have any family? What's it like outside Konoha? Do you know if we're related? If you do, do you know who my parents are? When did you get here?"

It was utterly suffocating. Yuko tried to answer as many questions as she could to the best of her ability without giving away any secrets, but it was a challenge given just how many questions he had. Eventually he ran out of things to ask, and she started getting in her own questions. The answers were, unfortunately, less than satisfactory. Expected, but still, unsatisfactory.

She became his first real friend - not father figure, because that was Iruka. Not uncle figure, because that was Teuchi. Maybe sister figure, but that first went to Ayame. His grandfather figure was Hiruzen who, despite his age and workload, still managed to set aside time for the boy. It was those four figures who kept the boy from going completely insane.

It was her self-appointed task to fix the cracks that they couldn't stop.

She took one of the apartments next to his, and taught him how to keep a house. She, instead of him, went shopping, because his stipend went much farther that way. It sickened her to realize just exactly how much the villagers had screwed him over in the past. It disgusted her how they could show one face to her, then look right next to her and show a completely different face.

But it wasn't her task to fix the village - it was her task to fix her family, which include Naruto, and Naruto alone. He may have been her grand-nephew, but he became her brother. They ate together, they trained together - his taijutsu was absolutely atrocious. It quickly became evident to her that several of the academy instructors had deliberately sabotaged his learning, and it swiftly became imperative that she correct the physical aspects.

She taught him the Tempest Fist style, along with proper nutrition and conditioning exercises. She taught him control exercises to try to tame his chakra reserves that were, even by Uzumaki standards, astounding for his age. She had to start him with tree-walking, because no matter how much he tried, leaf balancing was beyond him. She quickly became the center of his life. Whenever he came across a problem, she was the first person he turned to.

And so, two and a half months later, two weeks before the graduation test, he was in a complete panic. He knew there was absolutely no way that Yuko would fail, and he still couldn't create a clone. He could create a thousand clones and they would all turn out perfectly, but he couldn't for the life of him compress it down to the necessary two. So it befell Yuko to solve the problem.

* * *

"Too much chakra," Yuko said to Hiruzen. "Naruto just has far too much chakra to be able to control it well enough to create two clones. I've tried to get his control down to the point that he could create them, but it's like trying to stop a flood with your hands. The chakra just slips through."

Hiruzen steepled his fingers in front of his face. "So you want my suggestion for the type of clone to teach him."

Yuko nodded. "That's right. Earth would make the most sense, because you can almost always find enough dirt to make one, but earth clones are so dull. They're almost as useless as normal illusory clones."

"Tell me," Hiruzen said after a moment of thinking. "Relative to me, how much chakra does he have?"

"I would say at least twice as much, and that's without tapping the Kyuubi's supply. I've taken a look at his seal when he's not paying attention, and it truly is a marvel of work. The Kyuubi's chakra strains his coils to very near their breaking limit before returning to the seal, tricking his body into thinking that he's trained until he's emptied his coils. The entire process takes around a week, and as far as I can tell it's been happening since birth."

The Hokage's eyes widened at the prospect as Yuko continued. "It's actually amazing just how fine tuned the seal is. Your successor clearly knew his seals. He didn't just use the Reaper Death Seal - he modified it. Do you understand what that means?"

"I feel like I do, but I also get the feeling that you're going to tell me something that makes it clear to me just how much I don't understand," Hiruzen said with a twitch of his lips.

"The Reaper Death Seal is like a summoning contract, Hiruzen. It summons the Shinigami. He MODIFIED the clauses of the summoning. That is something that is practically impossible. I think, if he had enough time, he could've modified the seal in such a way that the Shinigami didn't consume his soul. It's a damned shame he didn't have the time," Yuko explained, a hint of awe in her voice.

"Regardless," she continued, "we've strayed off topic. We were discussing Naruto's need for a clone technique that he can pump as much chakra into as he wants to."

The Hokage sighed. "There is a forbidden technique that I would, under normal circumstances, never suggest. But these are no ordinary circumstances, are they?"

"No, no they are not," Yuko agreed as she shook her head.

"I assume you know of the Shadow Clone technique?" Hiruzen asked as he stood up.

"Know of it? Hell, I know how to use shadow clones. Remember my tip for paperwork? How's that working for you, by the way?"

"It's working wonderfully, by the way, thank you very much," he answered with a look of barely contained glee. A lull in the conversation followed as Yuko rubbed her temples.

"So I take it you want me to teach him to make shadow clones. Shouldn't be too hard… I hope."

"Let's hope you're right. I don't want to know what it would do to Naruto if he failed the exams this time around."

"I think it would destroy him, especially because there's no way to justify myself failing alongside him if he did. He would see it as him holding me back, which would hurt him just as much as if I betrayed him."

She stood up and started walking towards the door before she paused. "Do you want me to tell him about the memory transfer aspect? Or should we wait until he's more developed?"

There was another silence as Hiruzen debated which action to take. "Don't tell him. Not yet, otherwise he'll likely go overboard with it."

A smirk found its way onto Yuko's face. "That he would, Hiruzen. That he would."

* * *

It was quite astonishing, really, just how _fast_ Naruto learned when someone took the time to actually teach him. At least, the physical aspects. Not the mental work, like history and theoretical concepts. By the time the exams rolled around, Naruto had practically mastered the shadow clone technique. Within a single week, he had gotten it from five handsigns down to one.

And so it was that the graduation exams began with a writing portion. A portion that Yuko surprised herself by doing fairly decently in. She definitely didn't get top marks, but she definitely knew the majority of the answers. It was Naruto she was concerned about. She could see him struggling to answer the questions, and a quick glance at his paper made it clear why.

It was layered in genjutsus. At least three, probably more. Enough to confuse a genin, at the very least. Definitely active sabotage. She noted her observation and filed it away for later. She would mention it to Iruka when she turned in her test.

Half an hour later, Iruka stood up. "Alright guys, pencils down. Mizuki, would you please collect the tests?" he announced. The silver haired assistant instructor started walking down the aisles and collecting the tests. When he reached Naruto's, he had a decidedly predatory smirk on his face. Yuko decided to speak up then.

"Iruka-sensei, why does Naruto's test have a genjutsu on it?"

Mizuki's smirk instantly vanished, replaced with an infuriated scowl as Iruka's sharp eyes turned to the test. He frowned when he recognized at least two of the genjutsus on the test, one for hiding the contents and another for confusing the reader.

"That's a wonderful question. Mizuki, you passed out the tests, right? Why is there a genjutsu on Naruto's?" Iruka asked.

Mizuki pulled Iruka aside for a little privacy. "Well, there's a very simple reason for that," Mizuki awkwardly deflected, "one that I'll explain in private later." Iruka groaned.

"Mizuki, why don't you just go home? I can handle the rest of the exam from here, especially if you're not going to be impartial," Iruka suggested with a look of exasperation. Mizuki placed the tests on Iruka's desk and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Alright. Everyone, take a half hour break," Iruka said as he dismissed everyone. "Naruto, Yuko, stay for a minute please."

Everyone quickly filed out, several of the more snobbish snickering at the two Uzumaki's. Yuko scowled as she heard Sasuke mutter several choice insults under his breath. "Dobe couldn't even recognize a genjutsu. Hn."

When Shikamaru, the last to leave the room left, Iruka spoke. "Naruto, since your test was tampered with, you can take the real test over the break and during the first portion of the physical section of the exam." He pulled out a fresh test and set it on the desk in front of Naruto.

"Yuko," he continued, "thank you for bringing this to my attention. I must ask, though. When did you notice the genjutsu, and why?"

"I wasn't cheating, if that's what you're thinking," Yuko started. "I sensed the chakra about half an hour before the time limit and I got curious, so I decided to look. I would have mentioned it sooner, but I didn't want to interrupt the rest of the class, and I trusted you enough to provide a viable solution."

Iruka nodded as he looked at the first paper. "It's probably for the best," he muttered to himself. "If Mizuki refused to be an impartial examiner, then his evaluations can't really be trusted."

"If that's all, Iruka, may I go? I'd like to pick up some ramen for Naruto and myself during the break."

Iruka waved his hand distractedly in a dismissive manner in response to her question. "By all means. Just make sure you're back by the time we start the taijutsu portion."

The rest of the test went by normally. No one tried to sabotage Naruto's tests, and Iruka finished the exams on his own. Naruto, for his part, did extremely well on the ninjutsu and taijutsu portions of the exams, a direct result of Yuko correcting his form and improving his chakra control. By the end of the day, Iruka was extremely exhausted, but he considered it a fair trade so long as all the exams were impartially conducted.

"Alright everyone, congratulations. Make sure to come back tomorrow to see the results at around noon. I'll have them posted by then.

* * *

Two days later, everyone who had passed was gathered in a room while they awaited team assignments. There were ten students in this group - Aburame Shino, Akamichi Choji, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Yuko, and Yamanaka Ino. Iruka stood behind his desk at the front of the classroom.

"Alright everyone, congratulations once more for passing. In short order, I will announce the teams that you have been placed on. Teams one through six are being assigned in different rooms, so we'll be starting with team seven here. Before I start, though, keep in mind that you are now genin, and these teams have been determined by the Hokage himself. There will be no alterations to these teams except in extenuating circumstances. Do I make myself clear?" he announced in a tone that brooked no arguments.

Non-verbal nods of affirmation greeted his words. "Very well," he continued. "Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Yuko, and Aburame Shino." Everyone flinched as a loud whoop from Naruto pierced their ears.

"Yeah!" the blonde shouted ecstatically.

"Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Haruno Sakura," Iruka proceeded, ignoring Naruto's outburst, which surprisingly was matched with a similarly painful outburst from Sakura.

"NO!" she screeched. "How could they refuse to place me with my Sasuke-kun?!"

Yuko rolled her eyes. "Probably because of your fangirl tendencies," she muttered under her breath.

"Team Nine is still in circulation, so Team Ten will be Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino." Ino, for her part, maintained a somewhat calm countenance, but she still shot a few wistful glances over at Sasuke.

"Finally," Iruka started after a few quiet murmurs of conversation died down, "Uchiha Sasuke will be apprenticed alone to his sensei as a request by the Coun-"

A shattering window interrupted him as something flew threw the window, showering him in pieces of broken glass. The object unfurled to reveal a woman who threw two kunai at the corners of the object, pinning it to the ceiling, revealing it as a banner. Written in bold red lettering on the banner was 'PRESENTING THE SEXY AND SINGLE MITARASHI ANKO.'

The woman had purple hair and was dressed in a mesh shirt and wearing an open trench coat that left very little of her impressive physique to the imagination. "Right then!" she announced in a brash voice. "Which of the brats are mine, Iruka?"

He released a sigh. "You're early, Anko. Team Seven, meet your Jounin-sensei."

Anko ignored the kids, turning to focus on Iruka. "I'm not early, you're just slow," she said in a more subdued voice, though it carried a hint of petulance. Turning back to the class, she addressed the three students who had stood up. "Right, brats. Meet me on the roof. You've got three seconds before I release the snakes on ya."

Naruto and Shino immediately ran out the door while the redhead walked calmly. "You might want to hurry, kid," Anko taunted. "As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the snake, the more potent the poison."

Yuko turned to directly face Anko. "I'm not worried about myself, as I doubt your snakes will catch me. I'm merely buying time for my teammates to reach the roof," she said with a smirk. Anko narrowed her eyes at the challenge, before flying through a set of seals, biting her thumb, and slamming her hand on the ground. There was a puff of smoke, and three small snakes appeared.

To Anko's surprise, the redhead vanished with a splash of water. She masked it well, though, as her snakes slithered out the door. "Hmm… Already team-oriented that one. She'll go far with that kind of attitude," she murmured to herself as she strode out the door at a sedate pace, before she too vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Shino and Naruto reached the roof second and third, surprised to find Yuko already there. "How'd you get here so fast?" Naruto demanded. "We left before you!"

"Body flicker," Yuko answered. "I'll teach it to you guys later, maybe."

"Well, aren't you a surprising one," Anko announced as she arrived in similar fashion. "It's not everyday you meet a genin who can use the shunshin." She leaned against the railing as she addressed her team. "Why don't we start with an ice breaker? Y'know, a kind of get to know you thing? I'll start first."

"I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I like dango. I was apprenticed to Orochimaru of the Sannin before he turned traitor, and he took me with him when he was ousted from the village. I 'escaped' when he discarded me and came back here. I summon snakes. My goal is to kill Orochimaru for what he did to me."

She pointed at Shino. "You next, brat."

He responded in a surprisingly deep voice. "My name is Aburame Shino. I like my family, and I enjoy breeding new breeds of Kikai. I dislike people who kill insects for no reason. My goal is to develop a breed of airborne Kikai that are as capable of draining chakra as the grounded strain."

Anko nodded, before turning to Naruto. "What about you?" she prompted.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like Ramen, Ayame-nee, Teuchi-san, Jiji, and Yuko! I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook cup ramen, people who can't see past their prejudices, as well as Sasuke-teme." He grumbled the very last part of that sentence, dislike evident in his voice. "My dream is to surpass all the previous Hokage!"

Anko smirked at his dislikes. "Alright. Finally, the redhead."

"My name is Uzumaki Yuko. I like Naruto, seals, and studying the theory behind seals. I dislike Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri for their role in the destruction of Uzushiogakure. My goal is to ensure the continuation of the Uzumaki line, as well as safeguarding the knowledge of the Uzumaki."

Anko frowned. Of all three of them, Shino's was probably the most realistic, Naruto's was the most idealistic, and Yuko's was the most unexpected. Not many people knew of Uzushiogakure these days. Especially not among twelve year olds. Though, she admitted, Yuko wasn't your average twelve year old.

"Well then!" she announced cheerily. "Why don't you brats go home? We'll be meeting tomorrow at training ground seven at eight, so make sure to be there bright and early! You don't want to miss the second genin exam! Yuko, I'd like to speak with you later - I'll find you. Bye!" She disappeared in a puff of smoke before the inevitable torrent of questions could follow. She didn't go too far - just to a branch on a nearby tree so she could keep an eye on the brats.

"What do you think she meant by second exam?" Naruto asked nervously.

"It is logical to assume that there is more to being a shinobi than the academy teaches. Therefore, it is likely that they would administer a second test to ensure that the graduates have the potential to survive. Why? Because there is no point in sending out a shinobi only for them to die on their first mission."

"There's definitely more that we need to know than just a clone technique, the transformation, and the body replacement," Yuko agreed. "We might as well get to know eachother better if we're going to be on the same team together. How about we go out to lunch?"

"Ramen?" Naruto asked.

Yuko rolled her eyes. "No. If you only eat ramen, you'll stunt your growth and you'll be a runt forever. Not that that's a bad thing, but you're far more intimidating if you're taller than the person you're trying to intimidate." Anko snickered in her tree at that statement.

"Very well. I find this proposal acceptable," Shino said.

"Excellent. Are there any suggestions for locations?" Yuko asked. "And not Ichiraku's. We've been there three times this week already, Naruto, and it's only Monday."

"Fine. I can't think of anywhere other than Ichiraku's that'll accept me," he grunted.

 _Oh. Right. That's an issue,_ Yuko thought. "I hear there's a fairly accepting dango shop that does pretty well for itself. Follow me."

Anko trailed the three genin for a bit before realizing that they were heading to her favorite dango shop. A smirk slid onto her face as an idea took root in her head, and she shunshined ahead of the brats to get there before them.

She was already seated with a plate of dango when her new team turned around the corner on their way to the shop. Hiding a smirk, she tossed a now-empty skewer on the ground at their feet. "Hey brats. What're you doing here?" she half shouted in an accusatory tone. "Are you following me?"

"No, Anko-sensei, we were merely going to eat lunch together. Why? Because as a team, it will speed up the bonding process," Shino replied evenly.

"Besides, sensei," Yuko chimed in. "You were the one following us until our location became obvious."

"She was following us?" Naruto asked, shocked. "How could you tell?"

"Queen Kikai beetles release pheromones that male Kikai smell. I placed a queen on her on the roof. Why? Because it is never a bad idea to have a way of tracking someone," Shino said.

"Okay, but how did _you_ know, Yuko? I'm pretty sure she isn't a Kikai bug or anything," Naruto grumbled.

"I sensed her chakra," Yuko stated simply without flair.

"Oho, you're a sensor?" Anko butted in, interested.

"Yes. My range is about a mile."

The three genin joined Anko at her table and placed their orders before Yuko took the lead again. "As you know, Anko-sensei, because you were listening to us, we made plans for lunch in order to get to know eachother better. I'll start."

"Like most Uzumaki, I have massive chakra reserves. Due to certain classified conditions, mine are even larger than normal - in fact, if they were much larger, my chakra coils would rupture and I would die a painful death. Fortunately, this isn't the case. These massive reserves combined with my knowledge of jutsus makes me an ideal ninjutsu specialist. I also use the Uzumaki taijutsu style, which is called the Tempest Fist, and I've been teaching it to Naruto. My kenjutsu is rusty, and I'm waiting on a custom order of katanas before I practice that. I'm also quite adept at sealing and I can sense chakra."

Shino straightened his glasses. "Like many of the Aburame, I use my body as a hive for my Kikai beetles. My allies are capable of sensing and consuming chakra. Because of the nature of our symbiotic relationship, I am incapable of using many jutsus, as my allies feed off of my chakra. I am passable with my taijutsu, and I am skilled with my clan's techniques."

Naruto was bouncing in his seat when it came time for him to speak. "Yuko-nee says that I have massive chakra reserves even compared to most Uzumaki - she says I have twice as much as jiji, though I find that hard to believe. My taijutsu was crap because the instructor's taught me wrong, but Yuko's been helping me fix that. I also heal really fast and I can make a lot of shadow clones."

"Shadow clones already? Damn, brat," Anko said. "Looks like we're going to be a medium to close ranged specialist team, assuming we can get some medium range jutsus down."

She sucked enticingly on another stick of dango as she examined her new team. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to grab Yuko here for something real quick. See ya guys tomorrow!" She placed a hand on Yuko's shoulder and together they vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving two confused genin.

The two sat in silence before they both realized something simultaneously. "She left us the bill."

* * *

 **A/N: Still don't own Naruto. Imagine if I did though. Actually, don't. Somehow the story would get even more complicated.**


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